Glass Walls
by The Curse of Forever
Summary: She wanted to cry, because she knew. When it came between his brother and herself, Alphonse would always come first.


**A/N**: Just a little something I've been thinking about doing for a while. It was inspired by Mikeinel's 'Draw with me' (Very good, short, a little sad). Anyway, this is one of the twenty-some ideas that have been bothering me, and I thought I could get this outta my head with a nice little one-shot. Enjoy :)

**Disclaimer: **As you can see, this is a fanfiction, and if I had been the one to devise fma, I would not have a need to write fanfiction for I would have already made a beautiful and inspiring master piece and would have no need to ever do anything of note ever again. But I didn't so I do.

On with the fiction!

* * *

Winry sat there, looking at Edward through a glass wall, cursing every last bit of it for keeping her from him. He put his hand on the cool glass. His mouth was moving, but she couldn't hear. She put her hand against his. She could see he was sitting in a small clearing. On the other end of it, not ten feet away, in his own prison of glass, was Alphonse. He too, separated from Edward. Following her gaze, Ed looked away from her and to his young sibling. A dazzling smile lit up his face as he saw the thin blond that was his brother, in the flesh. Ed scramble over to him, speaking rapidly. Neither of the trapped blonds could hear the golden eyed boy however.

Then she watched with mild horror as the area surrounding Ed began to fade into whiteness. A figure appeared, though the white surrounding him made it hard to tell him apart from the now-white landscape. Winry could only tell of his presence by the shadows around him and his creepy smile. He spoke to Edward, and for a moment she was glad she couldn't hear, she didn't want to imagine the voice a creature such as that could have. A look of absolute horror crawled across Ed's face. He looked frantically between Al and Winry, his brother he had searched for for so long and the girl he loved. The figure before him smiled wider.

The realization hit Winry like an oncoming train.

That bastard. He was trying to make him pick. He had to choose between saving Alphonse and saving her. She could see how torn Edward was. The girl he loved and the brother he had searched so long for. She looked over at Alphonse. He was straining against the wall, straining to be with the brother that was so important to him. He looked at her. _'Let me be selfish, for once,'_ his eyes pleaded. _'Let me be with my nii-san.'_ She herself felt selfish, hoping she would be picked when Alphonse had been waiting so long. She nodded to the younger Elric, before looking at Ed. She gestured to Al, trying to hide the tears building up in her eyes. He should pick his brother, no matter how much it hurt her. He gave her a sad but thankful smile, though there was no mistaking the pain in his eyes.

He turned speaking to the white monster behind him. She still couldn't hear, but she watched as the creature split into a sickening grin. She could only watch, trying to hide the hurt as Alphonse walked forward from his glass keep and was enveloped in a crushing but certainly warm hug from his brother.

Ed turned back towards her, placing his_ flesh_ right hand on the glass. There was no hesitation when she matched her own hand up against his, giving him a sad smile. Then the abomination spoke again, and she wished desperately to hear him, if only to understand the expression of utter despair that settled on that beloved face of Edwards. He was straining against the glass, leaning towards her. He looked ... _scared_. And that was truly what struck fear into her heart, Ed was never afraid. Except he was, and he looked it now.

He pounded on his fists on the glass, shouting at she was deaf to his cries. He gestured for her to move aside. She did so quickly and without hesitation, weary of the horrid expression he wore. His fists pounded against the glass, and she watched with hope as it splintered under the pressure of his fists.

Then the fist of his right arm burst through, glass shattering everywhere.

"I dont think so Mr. Al-chem-ist," the demon said, dragging out the syllable. His voice sent shivers down Winry's spine. And she was forced to watch in horror as Edward's arm deteriorated before her.

"Brother!" Al cried desperately, but finding himself unable to move forward to help his brother. The glass built itself back up, and Winry couldn't stop the tears leaking from her eyes when she looked at Ed, clutching his right shoulder as blood poured through his fingers. He looked up at her with a sad smile that quickly changed to one of horror. It didn't take her long to realize the origin of that look was the large gate that appeared behind her, a sense of foreboding emanating from it. Edward was screaming for her, that much was clear even if she couldn't hear his heart wrenching cries. Tears streamed down Al's face. Ed pounded on the glass more, ignoring the wound in his shoulder bleeding profusely. Black arms burst from the gate, wrapping around her, and began to drag her back. She reached out towards Edward. The sound of Truth's monstrous cackle surrounding them all. She heard one final cry as she was pulled into darkness.

"WINRY!"

* * *

Winry awoke in a cold sweat, dream still fresh in her mind. She couldn't stop the tears that spilled from her eyes. She choked out a sob, pain-filled saltwater staining her pillow. Though he'd just left, she fervently wished Ed was with her now, instead of off traipsing around the world. God how she hoped he was safe. The bone chilling tale Ed had spun, explaining what truly lied behind alchemy haunted her subconscious. She pulled the red coat he had given her from the doorknob and wrapped it around her, burying her nose in the red cloth and inhaling his scent. It smelled like alchemy and adventure and that unique scent that was distinctly _Ed_. She laid back down in her bed, coat and all. Maybe he couldn't be there, with her to comfort her or give her his toothy smile, but this was as close.


End file.
